Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The Duck juggernaut gives USC the beats
Is this the most prolific offence you've ever seen? I still think Newton should get the Heisman, but this Oregon offence is just a treat to watch......what a clinic by Darrin Thomas and LaMichael James!
Wouldn't it be great to see Auburn vs. Oregon in the BCS championship?
Wouldn't it be great to see Auburn vs. Oregon in the BCS championship?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Cam for Heisman
Really, my jaw drops, everytime I see Cam Newton play.....
He is really something....I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon, but this guy is way more impressive than Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Troy Smith, and Tim Tebow.
Look at this 49 Yd TD run against LSU, which is a very good defence!
And check out this clinic against the Razorbacks....
Cam for Heisman! (and I'm hoping that Auburn takes the SEC)
He is really something....I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon, but this guy is way more impressive than Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Troy Smith, and Tim Tebow.
Look at this 49 Yd TD run against LSU, which is a very good defence!
And check out this clinic against the Razorbacks....
Cam for Heisman! (and I'm hoping that Auburn takes the SEC)
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
早Thursday, September 23, 2010
Jose blasts #50!
Nice job Jose Bautista! The Blue Jay slugger has given the Blue Jays its first 50 HR performance by a player with a HR shot to right field!
What a season!
What a season!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Südschwarzwald Radweg
A perfect time to take a 4-day weekend on the Südschwarzwald Radweg. What great weather God gave us!
Following this sign for 4 days, for a total of about 240 km....
....we cycled through the Upper Black Forest, the Upper Rhine, the Three Nations Corner, and the Markgräflerland....
Starting from our doorstep in Freiburg....
and cycled through the Dreisamtal to Kirchzarten
where we bravely climbed about 500 m in height by taking the train called the Höllentalbahn to Hinterzarten.
We cycled from Hinterzarten, through Titisee, Neustadt, and on the Bähnle-Radweg
where one can see beautiful scenery of the Upper Black Forest:
...stopping in Lenzkirch for a late lunch.
After lunch, back on the Bähnle-Radweg towards Bonndorf where beautiful fields stretch as far as the eye can see....
before racing downhill to Stühlingen where we stopped to rest for the night. We biked 68 km the first day....
Views from our hotel were marvellous!
We start Day 2 continuing downhill through the Wutach valley towards the Upper Rhine.
The Upper Rhine forms the border between Germany and Switzerland...truly majestic!
We biked through the Upper Rhine region and stopped for lunch at an idyllic town called Laufenburg, which has a little bridge across the Rhine to a town in Switzerland with the same name.
It was a neat feeling to just walk across the bridge into Switzerland!
About 10 km more, and we arrived at our destination for the second night: Bad Säckingen. A bit larger than Laufenburg, it's also a town right on the Rhine, with a bridge to Switzerland. In the late afternoon, we even fit in a 6 km hike, back into the Black Forest, to enjoy the views of Switzerland across the river.
Altogether, we cycled 54 km on Day 2.
Day 3 would be the shortest ride of the journey, but not easy at all. We continued along the Upper Rhine towards Rheinfelden. From there, we took the variation towards Lörrach through the hilly Dinkelberg region, with great panoramic views.
We arrived in Lörrach for lunch, and then checked into our hotel, having cycled a total of about 44 km. We managed to hike in the surrounding hills in the afternoon.
Day 4 would be the most challenging and strenuous day, a fitting way to end our trip. We cycled through the hilly region from Lörrach to Bad Bellingen where we met up again with the Rhine river, this time flowing north, and forming the border with France. We continued along the Rhine about 10 km until Neuenburg, where we stopped for lunch.
After lunch, we biked through the flat Markgräflerland, loaded with picturesque vineyards, and a gorgeous view of the western edge of the Black Forest.
After biking a total of 77 km on Day 4, we arrive back home in Freiburg, quite exhausted, but enriched from our four days on the Südschwarzwald Radweg!
Following this sign for 4 days, for a total of about 240 km....
....we cycled through the Upper Black Forest, the Upper Rhine, the Three Nations Corner, and the Markgräflerland....
Starting from our doorstep in Freiburg....
and cycled through the Dreisamtal to Kirchzarten
where we bravely climbed about 500 m in height by taking the train called the Höllentalbahn to Hinterzarten.
We cycled from Hinterzarten, through Titisee, Neustadt, and on the Bähnle-Radweg
where one can see beautiful scenery of the Upper Black Forest:
...stopping in Lenzkirch for a late lunch.
After lunch, back on the Bähnle-Radweg towards Bonndorf where beautiful fields stretch as far as the eye can see....
before racing downhill to Stühlingen where we stopped to rest for the night. We biked 68 km the first day....
Views from our hotel were marvellous!
We start Day 2 continuing downhill through the Wutach valley towards the Upper Rhine.
The Upper Rhine forms the border between Germany and Switzerland...truly majestic!
We biked through the Upper Rhine region and stopped for lunch at an idyllic town called Laufenburg, which has a little bridge across the Rhine to a town in Switzerland with the same name.
It was a neat feeling to just walk across the bridge into Switzerland!
About 10 km more, and we arrived at our destination for the second night: Bad Säckingen. A bit larger than Laufenburg, it's also a town right on the Rhine, with a bridge to Switzerland. In the late afternoon, we even fit in a 6 km hike, back into the Black Forest, to enjoy the views of Switzerland across the river.
Altogether, we cycled 54 km on Day 2.
Day 3 would be the shortest ride of the journey, but not easy at all. We continued along the Upper Rhine towards Rheinfelden. From there, we took the variation towards Lörrach through the hilly Dinkelberg region, with great panoramic views.
We arrived in Lörrach for lunch, and then checked into our hotel, having cycled a total of about 44 km. We managed to hike in the surrounding hills in the afternoon.
Day 4 would be the most challenging and strenuous day, a fitting way to end our trip. We cycled through the hilly region from Lörrach to Bad Bellingen where we met up again with the Rhine river, this time flowing north, and forming the border with France. We continued along the Rhine about 10 km until Neuenburg, where we stopped for lunch.
After lunch, we biked through the flat Markgräflerland, loaded with picturesque vineyards, and a gorgeous view of the western edge of the Black Forest.
After biking a total of 77 km on Day 4, we arrive back home in Freiburg, quite exhausted, but enriched from our four days on the Südschwarzwald Radweg!
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
A Suffering Jesus for a Suffering World
Here's an article that I wrote back in January 1999.......
“If your God is so powerful, and so loving, then why doesn’t he do something to end all the suffering in the world?”
This question has been posed to me by many people who are struggling to come to terms with the Christian faith. Maybe God is indeed powerful, they say, but not loving enough to care about all the suffering in the world. Or maybe God is actually loving, but not powerful enough to be able to stop the pain, torture, and hurt that so many people have. But clearly God cannot be both powerful and loving, or else our world would have an absence of suffering, and everyone would be content.
The question certainly does cause me to think more insightfully about God. Why doesn’t God do more to alleviate the suffering of the poor and needy? How can God live with himself when Honduras lies in ruins after Hurricane Mitch, innocent Palestinians and Jews are being murdered by terrorism on both sides, civil war reigns in Bosnia, and so many are homeless in the cruel Toronto winter? How can God look at his creation and say that “it was very good”?
But what if God did do more to soften our hardships? Surely if God wanted to, he could ensure justice, guarantee our happiness, compel us to love. Surely he could have spared the world from Hitler, Stalin, and other oppressors. But at what cost? Why is it that God is so unwilling to influence the world more?
I do believe that if God really wanted to, he could do all that. In a display of glorious power, God could right all the wrongs in the world. But though such a display would enforce obedience, would it result in love? I’m afraid that the answer must be no. If God meddled and coerced all to be right in the world, he might as well have created robots, perfectly obedient, unfeeling objects. But God refuses to interfere with our freedom, because only those who are free to love are capable of love. And that, above all is what God wants. God loves us, and wants our love back, but forced, coerced love is not love at all. And using power to stop suffering and pain is no way to promote love.
What then? Is there no solution? Does God then leave everything in the hands of human freedom? We can see firsthand the trouble that this has resulted in. For humans choose evil, greed, lust, envy, but so seldom choose love.
God does have an answer for human suffering, and the answer’s name is Jesus. Jesus himself, who in the last week of his life went through abandonment, betrayal, scrutiny, rejection, mocking, and crucifixion. Against his suffering, ours pales in comparison. Just picture Jesus in that grotesque position, naked, ribs protruding, gasping for air, blood dripping from his head and hands, dying a slow painful death that ends with his heart rupturing as a result of swollen arteries of surcharged blood. And yet it is not the physical suffering that Jesus must contend with, but the eternal suffering caused by humanity’s failures. An eternal suffering, torturing the human soul of Jesus. Who can imagine?
This is God’s answer to human suffering. Not to automatically wipe out all that is wrong with the world. Not to flick away dictators, oppressors, and criminals in one quick swipe. Not to dazzle us with glorious displays of power. But to take on suffering himself. To make himself weak, vulnerable, at the mercy of other humans. All this to safeguard human freedom, to give us the choice to accept him or crucify him. Surely this then is the answer; the proof of God’s amazing love. By suffering eternally, he made our sufferings temporary, so that one day, we would be free, truly free.
This is the God I believe in. A God that is weak. A God that is humiliated. A God that is despised. A God that is hated. A God that knows what it is like to be human. A God that hangs dead on a cross. Because truly then, this is the God that loves.
“If your God is so powerful, and so loving, then why doesn’t he do something to end all the suffering in the world?”
This question has been posed to me by many people who are struggling to come to terms with the Christian faith. Maybe God is indeed powerful, they say, but not loving enough to care about all the suffering in the world. Or maybe God is actually loving, but not powerful enough to be able to stop the pain, torture, and hurt that so many people have. But clearly God cannot be both powerful and loving, or else our world would have an absence of suffering, and everyone would be content.
The question certainly does cause me to think more insightfully about God. Why doesn’t God do more to alleviate the suffering of the poor and needy? How can God live with himself when Honduras lies in ruins after Hurricane Mitch, innocent Palestinians and Jews are being murdered by terrorism on both sides, civil war reigns in Bosnia, and so many are homeless in the cruel Toronto winter? How can God look at his creation and say that “it was very good”?
But what if God did do more to soften our hardships? Surely if God wanted to, he could ensure justice, guarantee our happiness, compel us to love. Surely he could have spared the world from Hitler, Stalin, and other oppressors. But at what cost? Why is it that God is so unwilling to influence the world more?
I do believe that if God really wanted to, he could do all that. In a display of glorious power, God could right all the wrongs in the world. But though such a display would enforce obedience, would it result in love? I’m afraid that the answer must be no. If God meddled and coerced all to be right in the world, he might as well have created robots, perfectly obedient, unfeeling objects. But God refuses to interfere with our freedom, because only those who are free to love are capable of love. And that, above all is what God wants. God loves us, and wants our love back, but forced, coerced love is not love at all. And using power to stop suffering and pain is no way to promote love.
What then? Is there no solution? Does God then leave everything in the hands of human freedom? We can see firsthand the trouble that this has resulted in. For humans choose evil, greed, lust, envy, but so seldom choose love.
God does have an answer for human suffering, and the answer’s name is Jesus. Jesus himself, who in the last week of his life went through abandonment, betrayal, scrutiny, rejection, mocking, and crucifixion. Against his suffering, ours pales in comparison. Just picture Jesus in that grotesque position, naked, ribs protruding, gasping for air, blood dripping from his head and hands, dying a slow painful death that ends with his heart rupturing as a result of swollen arteries of surcharged blood. And yet it is not the physical suffering that Jesus must contend with, but the eternal suffering caused by humanity’s failures. An eternal suffering, torturing the human soul of Jesus. Who can imagine?
This is God’s answer to human suffering. Not to automatically wipe out all that is wrong with the world. Not to flick away dictators, oppressors, and criminals in one quick swipe. Not to dazzle us with glorious displays of power. But to take on suffering himself. To make himself weak, vulnerable, at the mercy of other humans. All this to safeguard human freedom, to give us the choice to accept him or crucify him. Surely this then is the answer; the proof of God’s amazing love. By suffering eternally, he made our sufferings temporary, so that one day, we would be free, truly free.
This is the God I believe in. A God that is weak. A God that is humiliated. A God that is despised. A God that is hated. A God that knows what it is like to be human. A God that hangs dead on a cross. Because truly then, this is the God that loves.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Elzach Hike
A beautiful day for a hike! The Zwei-Täler Land is something that we've never really explored, and we were pleasantly surprised and the great views it afforded......
An easy 20 km hike - not too strenuous, as one doesn't need to climb too high.....
An easy 20 km hike - not too strenuous, as one doesn't need to climb too high.....
Monday, June 28, 2010
What's the problem with video replay?
Is it me, or are the people at FIFA really dense? I was happy to see the Germans send the English packing after an impressive 4:1 display by the young German team, but unfortunately this victory was tainted by yet another blown call. England's Lampard looked to have knotted up the score 2:2, but the refs didn't see the goal. Video replays showed clearly that England did indeed have the equalizer, but play just went on.....
I don't want to blame the refs, after all, they have no reason to pretend it didn't happen.....I guess in the thick of things, they just didn't see it going over the goalline. But this is where FIFA has to wake up to the 21st century. Have video replay assist these officials when it comes to judging whether a goal counts or not. It won't destroy the game, it won't hold up play that long, and it will still keep the game controlled by humans.
I think FIFA really needs to just wake up to reality, and stop being so stubborn.
I don't want to blame the refs, after all, they have no reason to pretend it didn't happen.....I guess in the thick of things, they just didn't see it going over the goalline. But this is where FIFA has to wake up to the 21st century. Have video replay assist these officials when it comes to judging whether a goal counts or not. It won't destroy the game, it won't hold up play that long, and it will still keep the game controlled by humans.
I think FIFA really needs to just wake up to reality, and stop being so stubborn.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Enough with the diving already!
I'm no huge soccer fan, but living in Germany, it's nice to follow things like the World Cup (and the European Cup as well). It's a fun time, with the country gripped with the results of each game....
Actually I find soccer not a bad sport at all (much better than basketball). But there are still somethings about it that keep me from being a real fan of the game. The first is the low scoring nature of the game. I actually like defence and good defensive play, but when there are less than two goals per game (from both teams) on average, I think it's a bit too low scoring. I guess I'm biased from hockey, but I would think that an average of 4-5 goals per game would be nice. I'm not into American scoring demands like in Basketball, where you are supposed to score - but I would like to see a team up by two goals still try to score, rather than go into a full defensive shell.
But I think the most annoying thing about soccer is all the diving going on. Players act like they are mortally wounded if they've just been brushed by the opposing player. I'm not sure why this is tolerated by the referees, or by the fans. I mean the sight of a soccer player clutching their shin, looking like they are irreparably wounded, only to sprint down the soccer pitch two minutes later is just a joke. I think the penalty for a soccer player that dives is that they have to block 10 hockey slapshots at an NHL net. I think that would make them much tougher in a hurry......
Actually I find soccer not a bad sport at all (much better than basketball). But there are still somethings about it that keep me from being a real fan of the game. The first is the low scoring nature of the game. I actually like defence and good defensive play, but when there are less than two goals per game (from both teams) on average, I think it's a bit too low scoring. I guess I'm biased from hockey, but I would think that an average of 4-5 goals per game would be nice. I'm not into American scoring demands like in Basketball, where you are supposed to score - but I would like to see a team up by two goals still try to score, rather than go into a full defensive shell.
But I think the most annoying thing about soccer is all the diving going on. Players act like they are mortally wounded if they've just been brushed by the opposing player. I'm not sure why this is tolerated by the referees, or by the fans. I mean the sight of a soccer player clutching their shin, looking like they are irreparably wounded, only to sprint down the soccer pitch two minutes later is just a joke. I think the penalty for a soccer player that dives is that they have to block 10 hockey slapshots at an NHL net. I think that would make them much tougher in a hurry......
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Big-12 is saved
Well, it seems like the Big-12 is saved! Hurray for Texas! Well they were really in it for the money, but regardless, I think it's good for football to have a strong Big-12 conference.
Note that the Big-10 will have 12 teams now (once Nebraska joins), while the Big-12 will have 10 teams (once Nebraska and Colorado leave). Ha ha ha ha, these college conference names are weird.....
Note that the Big-10 will have 12 teams now (once Nebraska joins), while the Big-12 will have 10 teams (once Nebraska and Colorado leave). Ha ha ha ha, these college conference names are weird.....
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Soccer Corniness
Is it EVERY soccer game that has those kids that come in hand in hand with the soccer players? What's up with that anyway? What do they contribute to the ceremony anyway? I think nothing is gained aside from CORNINESS.....
Friday, June 11, 2010
More's the pity...
Well, today we got news that Colorado will abandon the Big-12 and join the ranks of the Pac-10. Nebraska will probably also abandon the Big-12 and flee into the arms of the Big-10. The Big-12 is thus severely weakened, and may come to an end depending if Texas wants to bolt or not.....
The decisions of the Cornhuskers and Buffaloes to leave seem purely based on financial considerations. They think that they will reap a larger share of the revenue pie in their new conferences. Unfortunately, this means the end of Big-12 football, which has been arguably the source of the best football games over the past decade or two.
Texas vs. Oklahoma, Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, Nebraska vs. Missouri, Texas vs. Texas A&M, Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma, and Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma St.....these rivalries won't mean the same anymore....
All in all, a sad day for college football.....
The decisions of the Cornhuskers and Buffaloes to leave seem purely based on financial considerations. They think that they will reap a larger share of the revenue pie in their new conferences. Unfortunately, this means the end of Big-12 football, which has been arguably the source of the best football games over the past decade or two.
Texas vs. Oklahoma, Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, Nebraska vs. Missouri, Texas vs. Texas A&M, Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma, and Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma St.....these rivalries won't mean the same anymore....
All in all, a sad day for college football.....
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
La Fourchette
If you're ever in Avignon, you absolutely must go to the restaurant called La Fourchette....
The best thing you can order is the Daube d'Avignon - succulent beef soaked in a beef stew. It is so juicy and tender, it is a must-order. Unfortunately, in our excitement in eating it, we forgot to snap an appropriate picture.
Instead, here are some nice pics of a couple appetizers that were ordered....
The escargot were also amazingly delicious!
Mmmmmm, yummy!
The best thing you can order is the Daube d'Avignon - succulent beef soaked in a beef stew. It is so juicy and tender, it is a must-order. Unfortunately, in our excitement in eating it, we forgot to snap an appropriate picture.
Instead, here are some nice pics of a couple appetizers that were ordered....
The escargot were also amazingly delicious!
Mmmmmm, yummy!
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